


Run Away with Me

by feeltheforcebruh



Category: The Gifted (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 08:36:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16740655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feeltheforcebruh/pseuds/feeltheforcebruh
Summary: Esme runs away from the hell fire club, and her savior needs some saving of his own.Esme/OC





	Run Away with Me

Esme couldn’t tell you what time it was. Or even what day. It had been months since she ran. From her Sister’s, the killing, all that the Hell Fire Club demanded of them. It had been a few years since they escaped that damned lab. 

Her blue eyes closed as a shudder racked her breath. The electrodes, testing, and more killing… They marked her as the weak link. But, was having basic empathy really that much of a bad thing? Was it really so horrible to care about others? Was it really that bad to say no to violence?  
Everyone around her said yes, except one. 

She had shielded her mind from her sisters. Slipped out of DC before the break of dawn. Days… Weeks of travel and she finally felt the final vestiges of her sister’s tethers slip from her mind. It was like waking up for the first time, feeling the world hit all of your senses like a freight train. At first she cried like a new born, unused to the vibrancy and terror of a world alone. But, instead of terrifying her it emboldened her decision. 

Away from the both of them she could think for herself. And, damn if it didn’t feel good.

Esme felt the familiar approach of a mind that at first disturbed her. Not at the thoughts that fluttered through said mind, but the lack of activity. She huffed, it wasn’t exactly the lack of activity. It was simply her inability to read his mind, and not for a lack of trying. Somehow his… mutation protected him from telepathy. That or he really was just a simple creature. She let out a small laugh, no just because he didn’t speak much didn’t mean he was simple.

With a simple look he could portray more emotions than she thought she was capable of experiencing. The creaking door of the cabin opened as the chilly air of the Canadian Rockies flooded the small cabin. Sitting up she pulled the downy blanket over her shoulders. Her eyes adjusted as the young man closed the door behind him. Knocking his boots on the ground to clean the snow off of them Esme’s breath quickened a bit. 

His soft brown skin, shaved head, and seemingly permanent 5’o clock shadow would have any sane person licking their lips. But, Esme had at least a few societal reservations left. Though not physically evident with her currently untamed blonde hair. He raised a bag in his hand when his hard-brown eyes met her blue irises.   
He spoke with a gruff voice, “Brought breakfast.”

Esme nodded, and stood from the bed. The red flannel that she had borrow from him slumping down on her right shoulder. Goosebumps assaulting her skin as her bare feet made contact with the cool wooden floor. As he set the bag down on table in the middle of the cabin, she began to unpack the bad. Basic turkey sandwiches, some fruit, and instant coffee. A year ago, Esme and her sisters would have turned their noses at such a simple meal. But now she appreciated the simple food. It was a visual reminder of living a life that was finally her own. 

Sitting down across from her fellow mutant Esme dug into the food. She dug into the food with reckless abandonment. Before she would have cared about the propriety of it all. But now it didn’t matter. It was food, and she was hungry. The man before her didn’t have any care about her manners. If anything, he seemed to appreciate her lack of formal manners.

Once they had finished the food Esme cleared the table as the man moved to add a log to the fire place, stoking the fire giving additional warmth to the room. Turning the breath caught in her throat. With his winter jacket removed his tight black t-shirt stretched over his muscles. And, of course he looked like a fit lumber jack.   
He spoke shaking her from her appreciative thoughts, “You sleep okay?”

Esme played with the front of the flannel, “Pretty good actually…”

He nodded and moved to sit on the couch facing the fire. Esme padded over and plopped down on the small couch next to him. Barely an inch in between them both. He stared into the fire and spoke.

“So, what’s your game plan?”

Esme brought her knees to her chest and paused before replying, “Getting that tired of me already?”

He shrugged not breaking eye contact with the fire, “No, but it’s been nearly four months since I found you half dead in the forest.”

Esme looked into the fire herself, “Which I am still grateful for.”

He shrugged again, “Anyone would’ve done the same.”

Esme shook her head, “No they wouldn’t of… You not only nursed me back to health, but you’ve given me your bed, food, and haven’t asked for anything in return.”  
His gruff voice spoke, “Ubuntu.”

Esme quirked a blonde eyebrow, “What?”

He then turned and met her eye contact, “Ubuntu, it’s why I helped you.”

She replied with a quizitive tone, “What does it mean?”

Her breathe hitched again at the sight of his smile, “Mean’s a lot of things, but one of the basics is compassion. If we don’t care for one another, who will?”  
Esme simply stared, “Well… that is a very rare trait these days.”

He shook his head, “Na, people just have a hard time showing it. But you’ve got to be the one to show them.”

She spoke with a soft tone, “You’re a good person you know that?”

Again, he shook his head, “My Mom was the good person, taught me everything important about how to live.”

Esme leaned forward, “What about your Dad?”

He looked down at his hands which lay in his lap. Esme followed his gaze and noted the four slitted marks above each of his knuckles.

His voice was nearly a growl, “Taught me how to survive.”

He released a deep breath. Esme gently wrapped her fingers around his hands and held them in her own. Thumbing over his scars she spoke.

“Well your parents raised a good man.”

He didn’t reply, simply held her gaze. With a small gulp Esme broke the silence.

“As to what I’m going to do? I think figure out what we’re going to have for lunch.”

He raised a dark eye brow, “We just ate breakfast?”

She nodded with a bright smile, “Yep, and that trek to the village down the mountain builds an appetite.”

He released a soft laugh, “So you’re going to send me back down?”

She shrugged, “Nope, we’re going down.”

He stared at her before smiling and nodding.


End file.
